Feeling unlucky in love, Danny changes his persona after The Cannon tells him that girls are attracted to bad boys. Meanwhile, Terry, annoyed that Danny is channeling the Cannon’s behavior, decides to have a wild girl’s night out with Lulu.

Robert Bianco

Most every move creators Robb and Mark Cullen have made is a smart one, starting with casting an entirely fetching Maggie Lawson as the mother and the great James Caan as her gruff, constantly inappropriate father.

Matt Roush

While this Little League comedy doesn't quite measure up to the big leagues, we shouldn't be surprised if family audiences rally around the team, turning a solid base hit into something potentially worthy of extra innings.

Mary McNamara

In this case familiarity breeds more comfort than contempt. Caan and Lawson spark when they spar, Crichlow's Lulu is a delight as is Gluck's Danny. And even Dick, though burdened with far too much sexual innuendo, has a few good moments.

Tim Goodman

Back In the Game doesn't really scream long-term storytelling beyond the family dynamic, which is precisely why it's wedged between The Middle and Modern Family on ABC. ... But this is a series that would seem to need, at minimum, four episodes before the audience could begin to get a real feel for it. Even smushed between two high-caliber comedies, there might not be enough lift to let all the charms of Back in the Game play out.

Alessandra Stanley

Brian Lowry

This ABC comedy is the equivalent of a big fat pitch over the heart of plate, and will need to get mileage out of more characters, but what’s here has the potential to hold its lineup spot between leadoff hitter “The Middle” and ratings slugger “Modern Family.”

Lily Moayeri

David Sims

Rob Owen

There are two shows struggling to exist in one in the ABC comedy Back in the Game. One is about former all-star softball player Terry Gannon Jr. (Maggie Lawson) and her relationship with her hard-charging, estranged, ex-athlete father, Terry Sr. (James Caan), who goes by “The Cannon.” This show is pretty terrible.... The second show is not at all novel but it’s at least easier to take: Back in the Game is essentially a “Bad News Bears” reboot.

David Hinckley

It’s a good premise. But where both old guys are cranky and frustrating, unable to show they really care, Caan’s character is unpleasant in ways Eastwood’s was not [in the film "Trouble With the Curve"].

Hank Stuever

Producers persist with this post-recessionary fixation on adult children who fall on hard times and move back in with a parent or two; it’s both the worst and funniest premise that marginally employed sitcom writers can currently conceive. And so far, it’s worked mainly as an indicator of quick cancellation.